Mary Shelley uses Frankenstein and his trials to show how detrimental defying nature can be. First, she uses the weather to describe Frankenstein’s appearances and actions. When Victor Frankenstein is growing up, he appreciates and admires nature and its beauty; however, when he resides in his tower, he ignores nature completely. Because of this, he becomes ill and seemingly dead to the world. Frankenstein states that during the process of finding success, “no one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane…the summer months passed while I was thus engaged…in one pursuit. It was a most beautiful season; never did the fields bestow a more plentiful harvest…but my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature” (Shelley 81). Frankenstein compares his drive for success to that of a hurricane. Hurricanes ultimately end in destruction, however, and therefore Shelley uses nature to symbolize destruction. Also, Frankenstein states that his eyes have become “insensible” to the “charms of nature.” Nature is passing by him in his surroundings, yet, though eyes are biologically supposed to adjust to their surroundings, his eyes no longer function well enough for him to notice or cherish nature. After working like this for years, he inevitably becomes ill and withdraws from society. Thus, nature is necessary for survival, and ignoring nature also leads to destruction.
Frankenstein’s going against nature also ends in disaster. He is going against disaster by giving life back to the dead and thus breaking the circle of life. Frankenstein begins to describe his creation as “beautiful,” but quickly realizes that “these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with…his shriveled complexion, and straight black lips…now that I finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror…filled my heart” (84). Now that Frankenstein has created life from death, he himself is “breathless” and haunted by the “horror” that “fills his heart.” Shelley is pointing out the error of his ways to her reader. As Frankenstein is at the brink of psychological and physical destruction by the time his friend Clerval comes to take care of him, it is showing that anyone’s going against nature and its boundaries has severe consequences. Also, Frankenstein now has a huge burden, that, though at first he thinks is gone, actually still exists when he sees him for a brief moment towards the end of Volume I. He will have to live with these consequences that linger in society. Overall, through Frankenstein’s defying the laws of nature and its allowances, Shelley is making a statement that nature is extremely powerful and one should not go against it.
I agree that nature is extremely powerful and defying it comes with consequences. I think you bring up an interesting point about how once Victor Frankenstein stops admiring nature, he gets sick. While this may have more to do with him not resting because he is so involved with his studies, this may also have to do with nature. If he had been more involved in nature and its beauty, he never would have tried to defy it by bringing back life.
Nature, as you said, is very powerful. Each time Victor finally begins to appreciate nature once again, nature strikes back, warning him not to defy it. For example, when he is returning home to visit his family, the sky brews up a thunderstorm, immediately destroying any peace he found with nature. One could also argue that he goes againt nature by disrupting the natural life cycle, something Mother Nature may be punishing him for as well.